Presto
Presto Phoenix, Inc. is a private enterprise AI company that automates drive-thru order-taking for quick-service restaurant brands using a neurosymbolic Voice AI platform. It serves 12+ enterprise QSR customers including Dairy Queen, Wienerschnitzel, Carl's Jr./Hardee's, Checkers & Rally's, and Del Taco across the US and Canada.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersRedwood City, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Presto does
Presto Phoenix, Inc. is a private enterprise AI company that automates drive-thru order-taking for the quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry through its flagship Presto Voice platform. The core product is a neurosymbolic Voice AI system combining custom in-house Natural Language Understanding (NLU) models with Large Language Models (LLMs, including OpenAI's GPT), Automated Speech Recognition (ASR), and Text-to-Speech (TTS) delivered through a partnership with ElevenLabs. The platform integrates with existing drive-thru hardware, POS systems (via official partnerships with Oracle, PAR, and Qu), and order confirmation boards, supporting four deployment modes (Supervised AI, Pure AI, Agent-led, Unsupervised AI) and multilingual ordering. Disclosed operational metrics include up to 95% Non-Intervention Rate (avg 85%), ~90% order accuracy, 4x more context-specific upsell attempts, and up to a 6% increase in drive-thru revenue.
Presto serves enterprise QSR brands including Dairy Queen (American Dairy Queen Corporation), Wienerschnitzel (Galardi Group), Carl's Jr./Hardee's (CKE Restaurants), Taco John's, Del Taco, Checkers & Rally's, Yoshinoya, Captain D's, and Fazoli's, with 12+ brands in production-scale rollouts and hundreds of live locations. The product surface has expanded from core drive-thru Voice AI to include Menu Unification (a centralized menu data product, launched February 2025), AI-Native Phone Ordering (launched April 2025), and Presto IQ (an AI-native dynamic data business unit launched August 2025 and led by Michael Chorey, founder of Wendy's FreshAi). Strategic advisors include former Dairy Queen CEO Chuck Mooty.
Presto generates revenue through custom, non-publicly-disclosed enterprise subscription and services agreements structured as multi-year Service Agreements with pricing determined by location count, integration complexity, and chosen deployment mode. Go-to-market is direct enterprise sales to QSR corporate and franchise buyers, supplemented by POS partner channels and a franchise-by-franchise deployment model. The company employs 101–250 people, primarily remote across the US, with offices in San Mateo (HQ), San Carlos, Dallas, Atlanta, and Illinois. Presto emerged as a private entity in December 2024 when a consortium led by Remus Capital acquired the assets of the legacy public Presto Automation, Inc. (formerly NASDAQ:PRST) through an Article 9 sale process, injecting $18M of new capital and sunsetting the prior tabletop business; a $10M growth round led by Metropolitan Partners Group followed in January 2026. The SEC charged legacy Presto Automation with misleading AI claims in 2025 (subsequently settled), which remains a relevant compliance consideration for the successor entity.
Presto firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Presto
- Legal name
- Presto Phoenix Inc.
- Website
- https://presto.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Presto Phoenix, Inc. is a private enterprise AI company that automates drive-thru order-taking for quick-service restaurant brands using a neurosymbolic Voice AI platform. It serves 12+ enterprise QSR customers including Dairy Queen, Wienerschnitzel, Carl's Jr./Hardee's, Checkers & Rally's, and Del Taco across the US and Canada.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Presto industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Restaurant Voice AI Software
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design Services (541512)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Voice Assistants & Voice UI (VUI) (HDAAAFAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Contact Center Speech AI (agent assist, IVR automation) (HDAAAFAL)
Keywords
Where Presto is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Redwood City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Presto business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Enterprise Service Agreements: Presto provides products and services, and processes information relating to third parties that have entered into a subscription or services agreement (Service Agreement) with the company. This is a B2B contract-based revenue stream for QSR chains, structured as enterprise software/services agreements.
- Voice AI Platform Deployment (Drive-Thru): Presto Voice deployment across drive-thru locations, including hardware integration, software, and ongoing service. Deployed at hundreds of locations with a dozen enterprise QSR brands in production-scale rollouts.
- Phone Ordering Business Unit: AI-native phone ordering software launched in April 2025 as an additional Voice AI revenue stream for QSR customers. Handles inbound phone orders with full POS integration.
- Presto IQ Dynamic Data Offering: Presto IQ is a new dynamic data business unit providing AI-native personalization, real-time data integration, and insights for QSR operators, customers, and crew. Sold to enterprise QSR customers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom enterprise agreement per Service Agreement |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Presto product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Presto builds and sells Presto Voice™, an enterprise-grade AI voice assistant that automates drive-thru order-taking for quick-service restaurant (QSR) chains by integrating into existing POS systems and drive-thru hardware. The platform runs on a neurosymbolic AI stack combining custom in-house Natural Language Understanding (NLU) models with Large Language Models (LLMs), supports four deployment modes (Supervised AI, Pure AI, Agent-led, Unsupervised AI), and is sold alongside adjunct offerings including Presto Voice Menu Unification, Presto Voice AI Phone Ordering, and the Presto IQ dynamic data business unit.
Product overview
Presto Phoenix, Inc. operates a vertically focused, enterprise-grade Voice AI platform for the quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry, built on a core product, Presto Voice™, and a set of integrated modules and business units. The core Presto Voice product automates drive-thru order-taking via an AI voice assistant powered by in-house Natural Language Understanding (NLU), Large Language Models (LLMs), and speech synthesis (including ElevenLabs human-like voices), integrating into existing drive-thru hardware and POS systems (Oracle, PAR, QU). Around this core, Presto has launched a set of add-on products and business units: Presto Voice™ Menu Unification (a centralized menu data product for frictionless AI deployment and smart upsells), Presto IQ (an AI-native dynamic data business unit focused on real-time personalization and operational intelligence), and Presto Voice AI Phone Ordering (extending Voice AI to inbound phone orders with PCI/PII-compliant payment and POS injection). Presto's roadmap also positions the platform as the entry point for a connected Voice + Vision + Robotics stack, anchored by its human-AI "waltz" execution model with franchise-forward deployments across brands including Dairy Queen, Wienerschnitzel (Galardi Group), Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Taco John's, Fazoli's, Captain D's, Yoshinoya, Checkers & Rally's, and Del Taco.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Presto Voice: Industry-leading Voice AI product that automates drive-thru order-taking, helps staff avoid excessive multi-tasking, and increases revenue through consistent upselling.
- Presto Voice Menu Unification
- Presto IQ
Products and services
- Presto Voice Enterprise-grade AI-driven drive-thru voice assistant that automates order-taking for QSR brands. Integrates into existing drive-thru hardware and POS systems, supports four operating modes (Supervised AI, Pure AI, Agent-led, Unsupervised AI), multilingual ordering, and delivers context-specific upselling. Powered by in-house NLU, LLMs, and ElevenLabs voice synthesis.
- Presto Voice Menu Unification Industry-first data product that consolidates disparate brand-level menu data into a structured, centralized format, enabling preference-based, time-based, and item-modification upsells, brand-level menu management, and frictionless onboarding of new Presto Voice locations.
- Presto Voice AI Phone Ordering AI-native phone ordering business unit for QSRs offering first-ring pick-up, menu navigation, single-transaction POS injection, PCI/PII-compliant secure payment, and call-forwarding to staff. Extends the Presto Voice AI suite to inbound phone orders.
- Presto IQ AI-native dynamic data business unit that integrates real-time data sources to personalize offerings for guests, crew, and operators. Provides an intelligence layer connecting Voice, Vision, and Robotics through a real-time data unit for QSR personalization and operational insights.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 95% Non-Intervention Rate (NIR); average ~85% across all Presto Voice-enabled restaurants
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Presto
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Presto technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability12 records
Feature8 records
Presto partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators11 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Presto competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SoundHound AI: Direct competitor in QSR drive-thru and phone-ordering voice AI. SoundHound's restaurant vertical (including its Synq3 acquisition) deploys voice AI for White Castle, Jersey Mike's, and other chains — overlapping directly with Presto's enterprise QSR customer base and use case (drive-thru and phone ordering).
- OpenCity: Direct competitor providing AI-powered drive-thru ordering ("Ottomatic") to QSR chains. OpenCity targets the same drive-thru automation use case with the same enterprise sales motion, making it a head-to-head rival for many of the same brand-level contracts Presto is pursuing.
- ConverseNow: Direct competitor offering voice AI ordering for restaurants, primarily in the pizza/QSR segment (e.g., Domino's, Marco's). ConverseNow addresses the same drive-thru and phone-ordering workflows with comparable AI architecture, targeting overlapping QSR customers.
- Hi Auto: Direct competitor in drive-thru voice AI for QSRs, having piloted its technology at Checkers & Rally's — a brand Presto also serves. Hi Auto targets the same conversational ordering and upsell use case with a comparable enterprise go-to-market.
Emerging players
- PolyAI: Enterprise conversational AI vendor with a growing restaurant voice-ordering vertical (drive-thru and phone). PolyAI competes for similar enterprise QSR budgets but with a horizontal-vertical hybrid focus, lacking Presto's depth in drive-thru-specific tooling like Menu Unification.
- Cresta: Contact center AI platform that increasingly targets restaurant and hospitality customer-service workflows. Cresta is an adjacent player in conversational AI for customer interactions but is not as vertically specialized for QSR drive-thru order-taking as Presto.
Broad incumbents
- Five9: Large cloud contact center vendor with AI-enhanced voice capabilities serving many enterprise verticals including retail and hospitality. Five9 is a broader incumbent whose AI-driven voice automation overlaps with Presto's Phone Ordering product but without Presto's QSR-vertical depth.
- Toast: Leading restaurant POS and technology platform serving tens of thousands of QSR and full-service operators. Toast is an adjacent platform incumbent that competes for the same QSR IT wallet and could expand into voice/AI ordering as a feature rather than a separate vendor.
- NICE Ltd. Enterprise contact center AI and customer experience platform with broad voice automation capabilities. NICE is a broad incumbent whose voice AI stack overlaps with Presto's phone-ordering product but lacks QSR drive-thru specialization.
Others
- ParTech: Restaurant POS vendor and one of Presto's official POS integration partners (PAR). ParTech is an adjacent ecosystem participant whose installed base enables Presto's deployments but could also choose to bundle a competing voice AI solution directly into its POS offering.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Presto social profiles
Digital presencePresto compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Presto financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Presto leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
Presto funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds15 records
Investors18 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Presto M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Presto
What does Presto do?
Presto builds and sells Presto Voice™, an enterprise-grade AI voice assistant that automates drive-thru order-taking for quick-service restaurant (QSR) chains by integrating into existing POS systems and drive-thru hardware. The platform runs on a neurosymbolic AI stack combining custom in-house Natural Language Understanding (NLU) models with Large Language Models (LLMs), supports four deployment modes (Supervised AI, Pure AI, Agent-led, Unsupervised AI), and is sold alongside adjunct offerings including Presto Voice Menu Unification, Presto Voice AI Phone Ordering, and the Presto IQ dynamic data business unit.
Is Presto a public or private company?
Presto is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Presto founded?
Presto was founded in 2008. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Presto based?
Presto is headquartered in Redwood City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Presto make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Enterprise Service Agreements are the primary driver. The others are voice AI Platform Deployment (Drive-Thru), phone Ordering Business Unit and presto IQ Dynamic Data Offering.
Who are Presto's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SoundHound AI, OpenCity, ConverseNow and Hi Auto. Emerging players are PolyAI and Cresta. Broad incumbents are Five9, Toast and NICE Ltd.. ParTech is listed as an others.
Does Presto have an API?
No public API is recorded for Presto.
What industry is Presto in?
Presto's product category is Restaurant Voice AI Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAFAD, Voice Assistants & Voice UI (VUI), with a secondary code of HDAAAFAL, Contact Center Speech AI (agent assist, IVR automation). Its NAICS code is 541512 and its SIC code is 7372.